


Hunger in the Dark

by BarPurple



Series: Long Pork and Cigars [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Ravenous (1999)
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Tumblr Prompt, mauraders era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2018-10-23 22:15:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10728357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: He wasn't the strangest DADA teacher that Hogwarts ever had to date, but the American Ives was certainly a mystery.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GuesssWho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuesssWho/gifts).



Everyone from the second year up was surprised to see that Professor McGonagall did not put away the Sorting Hat once the last of the new first years had joined their house table. Instead Dumbledore rose to his feet and clapped his hands softly together to get everyone’s attention.

“As the holidays will have no doubt dulled your powers of observation, I shall point out that we have a new member of staff this year,” – he extended a hand to the goateed man at the end of the staff table, who removed his cigar from his mouth and waved it in greeting to the students, - “Professor Ives is our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, although a native of Scotland, he was educated in America which means he does not have a House here at Hogwarts. In order to make him feel truly a part of the school, he will now be Sorted.”

A rapid whispering filled the hall as students expressed surprise, and asked each other if an adult had every been Sorted before. As the new professor rose to his feet and offered the headmaster a small bow the ghosts provided the answer; no, this had never happened before. The portrait frames were filled to bursting as the painted inhabitants of the castle jostled for room to witness Hogwarts history in the making.

Necks were craned and toes stood on tips so curious eyes could take a good look at the latest wizard to take on the ill-fated Defence Against the Dark Arts position. Professor Ives’ cigar vanished in a swirl of smoke as he walked with an efficient clipped gait to the stool at the front of the hall. He was not much taller than McGonagall with dark collar length hair; his unusual robes drew a fair number of appreciative glances as he flicked the thigh length tails behind him to sit on the stool. Everyone recognized the anxious glance he cast as McGonagall lowered the battered Sorting Hat on to his head, they had all been there, all had felt that uncertain thrill as their future in Hogwarts was decided.

At the Gryfindor table James turned his head and whispered to the taller boy leaning on his shoulder; “What do you reckon Sirius? Think we’ll get him?”

“Hope so, might be useful to have a Defence teacher in house.”

From across the table Remus gave a low whistle and jerked his head toward the Sorting Hat; “Think its ready.”

The Hat was ready, in a loud clear voice it announced; “RAVENCLAW!”


	2. Chapter 2

Ives rarely felt anxious these days. More familiar to him was the thrill of the hunt, and the rush of adrenaline that accompanied a kill, the surge of vigour that came with feeding. Anxiety was such a stranger to him that he almost didn’t recognize it as the Sorting Hat covered his eyes; that the whispering voice in his ear caused him to jump made him chuckle.

“That’s right, no need to fear me; I’ll not bite. Now what do we have here? Plenty of secrets, but I supposes that’s to be expected for a man of your years. I’ll not pry, not more than I need to see where to put you. Hum, a good dose of cunning, and a lot of courage too, but that desire for answers is strong, isn’t it? Ah well then, there’s only one place for you; RAVENCLAW!”

As the Hat was removed he felt a tension he’d not been aware of ease from his shoulders. Keeping his true nature from humans was second nature to him, but in hindsight he’d been less sure about confounding such a powerful magical object. If the tattered old Hat had detected anything untoward then it had chosen to keep it to itself. The image of the Hat denouncing him as Wendigo to a hall full of teachers and students brought a wry smile to his lips. The panic would have been delicious, if potentially deadly.

Professor McGonagall misinterpreted his features as relief, and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Ravenclaw is a good house, quite the Quidditch team. I hope we’ll see you at the matches?”

“Oh yes,” – He inclined his head toward the student table of his new house, who were still celebrating having got the new teacher, - “Do you think they would mind if I joined them for the feast? I’d like to get to know them better.”

If his request flew in the face of protocol McGonagall was not perturbed.

“I think they’d be delighted to show you off.”

The thunderous applause that accompanied his quick stroll to the house table proved her right. The prefects made space for him and students up and down the table began to bombard him with questions. Minerva tutted softly to herself as she removed the Sorting Hat and the stool from the Hall. From her seat at the staff table she saw the new professor manage to swallow a few mouthfuls in between answering the endless questions the Ravenclaws posed, what she didn’t notice was that nothing he ate contained meat.

After the feast Ives slipped away and took a stroll around the grounds. In the peace afforded him by the moonlit night he drew deeply on his cigar and stared at Hogwart’s castle. She wasn’t here, that much he was sure of, but the secret to finding her was.


	3. Chapter 3

“Come on Wormy! How long have you been here and you still forget the trick step.”

James’ exasperation was well worn and didn’t have much bite anymore. Peter had been getting stuck in the quicksand step at least once a week since his first day. He tugged at his foot and whined; “My legs aren’t as long as yours Prongs. I can’t jump it as easily.”

Moony tugged him free and hauled him up to stand next to James.

“Come on. We don’t want to be late for the new teacher. Don’t know how keen he is with detention yet.”

James couldn’t argue with that. The three of them hurried up the stairs to catch up with Padfoot who was lounging at the top staring down the corridor that led to the classroom.

“Looks like we don’t have to worry about being late.”

The rest of the Gryffindor forth years and the Hufflepuffs were milling around outside the locked classroom. It was very rare for a teacher to not be inside wait for them to arrive. They didn’t have to wait long; a waft of cigar smoke appeared at the other end of the corridor heralding the arrival of Hogwarts newest teacher. The door clicked open.

“In you go. Please excuse my tardiness. I’m still learning my way around and those shifting staircases can be a puzzle.”

There were a few sniggers at that, but nothing mean spirited, after all everyone had been caught out by the stairs rearranging themselves at one point or another. James was one of the last to enter the room and by that time Ives was stood by the door, walking so close to the professor made James shiver, and his nose wrinkle at the odd smell around him. Ives caught the look on his face and vanished his cigar with an apologetic wave of his hand. It didn’t help, the strange smell still lingered as James hurried after the others and took his seat.

Ives glanced around the room.

“Gryffindor and Hufflepuff forth years, yes?”

Nods and mumbled positives answered him. He clapped his hands together.

“Excellent. Now for this term we will be focusing on Dark Creatures.”

He waved his hand at the blackboard causing a triangle to appear. Lines split into layers at various points.

“Now in order to defend against a creature Dark or not, you must first understand their needs.”

His statement drew frowns, why would they need to understand a Dark Creature? Surely the important thing was knowing how to defend against one?

The bottom segment of the pyramid filled with words which Ives spoken aloud as they appeared; “Sustenance. Shelter. Security. Sleep.”

He turned back to the class and grinned at the puzzled looks on their faces.

“They all sound very familiar, don’t they? Every one of a Dark Creature’s basic needs is exactly the same as yours. You are going to be surprised at just how much you have in common with the inhabitants of the shadowy corners of the world.”

Once the bell rang the class filed out quietly, clearly everyone was trying to come to grips with Ives unusual approach to the subject matter. Sirius slung his arm around James’ shoulder.

“You’re very quiet.”

James shrugged; he’d been fidgety throughout the class, a prickling urge to bolt from the room dancing just under his skin, made worse every time he caught a whiff of the odd scent of the man.

“Don’t you think he smells weird?”

Sirius shook his head; “Just of those cigars, wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one of those to try. Do you think he keep any in his office?”

The further away they got from Ives’ classroom the more like himself James felt. They were planning a midnight jaunt under his cloak before they had reached the great hall for lunch.


	4. Chapter 4

Raiding Professor Ives office for his cigars was surprisingly easy. The man was never in his office. Padfoot had been able to stroll inside in the middle of the day without the cloak to snag a few. The cigars were vile, but they’d had fun watching each other splutter and cough on the thick smoke.

The cigars were a distraction, but the real mystery was Ives himself. He frequently could be seen on the Map wandering the castle, but he often disappeared for long periods too.

Hagrid had mentioned he often saw Ives in the forest a fair bit. The Map didn’t cover the forest, so if he was spending time in there then they wouldn’t be able to see him. There was nothing strange about a teacher venturing into the forest, after all he had to get those Dark Creatures he brought to class from somewhere. 

A few times they had been under Prongs’ cloak on a late-night jaunt and they’d nearly bumped into him, but the map had not shown him at all.

“Do you think it’s broken?”

Padfoot rolled his eyes; “Don’t be daft Wormtail.”

Sirius’ tone wasn’t as sharp as normal. He was having a few doubts about the Map as well. Only last week it had shown Ives strolling the corridors with a Miranda Clark, which was nonsense because Moony had seen him and he was alone. They had wondered if there was someone else with him under an invisibility cloak or charm, but her dot on the map was practically on top of Ives’ so that didn’t make any sense either.

Moony shrugged; “He is the defence against the Dark Arts teacher, maybe he knows some way to confound the spells on the Map.”

Prongs tapped the Map with his wand; “Mischief managed. That might be it, looks like we’ve got some research to do.”

They grinned at each other, it would mean some covert trips to the library’s restricted section, but to get their Map working properly it would be well worth it.

-x-x-x

Ives had discovered he enjoyed teaching. It had never been a vocation he’d felt himself called to, but he was finding satisfaction in the small successes of his students. Teaching was the only source of satisfaction he had at the moment. He was only finding dead ends in his search for her.

Arabelle, the only woman in these long years he ever cared for. She’d opened his eyes to the wonders of magic and the heart. Theirs should have been a perfect love story, but once she had seen his true nature she had fled from him. 

He’d done everything she had asked of him and more, but she objected to his methods. He would now admit to having developed a touch of tunnel vision when it came to problems. If someone was in his way he ate them, it was in his nature. Until Arabelle’s father he had never devoured a wizard, and that brought with it a whole new vigour in the form of magic.

His delight at his new-found powers was matched by Arabelle’s horror. She had wanted to be free of her father’s control, but she had not considered murder, she had only wanted Ives to help her escape. 

Escape she did, but it was from Ives that she ran. He’d spend many years bitter about her abrupt flight from his life. He’d tried to put her from his mind, and in doing so her trail had grown cold. He was closer now, he could feel it. 

Very soon he would find her and she would not deny him again.


End file.
